‘Lucky’ car number plate with letter ‘R’ sells for HK$25 million at auction in Hong Kong
- Letter associated with racing cars and lucky number in Chinese fortune-telling draws about 60 bids
- Second-highest amount paid for number plate in city after ‘W’ plate sold for HK$26 million in 2021
A personalised car number plate featuring just the letter “R” has fetched more than HK$25 million (US$3.18 million) at a government auction, the second-highest amount paid in Hong Kong.
Bidding for the “R” plate started at HK$5,000 and a dozen buyers raised the price quickly. One bidder offered HK$2 million, but the price soon jumped to HK$9 million, then to HK$9.4 million.
After about 60 rounds, the hammer went down on a bid of HK$25.5 million, the second-highest paid for a number plate in the city. A “W” plate sold for HK$26 million in March 2021, about 5,200 times the opening price.
Sunday’s winning bidder did not respond to media inquiries when she left the auction hall at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.
Registration plate dealers told the media before the sale that “R” was expected to fetch at least HK$10 million because the letter was associated with racing cars and a lucky number in Chinese fortune-telling.